ZIP 61275 vs ZIP 61278

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61275 (Port Byron, IL) and ZIP 61278 (Rapids City, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61275 has a population of 4,347 at 50 people per square mile, while ZIP 61278 has 412 at 158 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 61275 reports a median household income of $108,438 against $69,938 in ZIP 61278, with per-capita income of $48,028 vs $44,106. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.1% in 61275 and 23.6% in 61278. Poverty rate reads 8.3% vs 4.3%, and unemployment 5.8% vs 7.5% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $245,700 in 61275 versus $219,000 in 61278, with median rent of $1,005 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.4% vs 94.6%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.